Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2019 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the first quarter 2019 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) And as a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Ms. Kimberly Esterkin from Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候，歡迎參加2019年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 並提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。現在我想把電話交給本次會議主持人、投資人關係部的Kimberly Esterkin女士。請開始。

Thank you, Laurie. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. With me today are Peter Dameris, Chief Executive Officer; Ted Hanson, President; Rand Blazer, President of Apex Systems; George Wilson, President of ECS; and Ed Pierce, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，Laurie。各位下午好，感謝今天加入我們。今天與我一同出席的有：執行長Peter Dameris；總裁Ted Hanson；Apex Systems總裁Rand Blazer；ECS總裁George Wilson；以及財務長Ed Pierce。

Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that our presentation contains forward-looking statements. Although we believe these statements are reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties and our actual results could differ materially from those statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described in today's press release and in our SEC filings. We do not assume the obligation to update statements made on this call.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，我們的簡報包含前瞻性陳述。雖然我們認為這些陳述是合理的，但它們仍受風險與不確定性影響，我們的實際結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。其中部分風險與不確定性已在今日新聞稿及我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件中說明。我們不承擔更新本次電話會議中所作陳述的義務。

For your convenience, our prepared remarks and supplemental materials can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

為方便各位，我們的事先準備講稿與補充資料可在我們網站的投資人關係（Investor Relations）專區查閱。

Please note that on this call we will be referencing certain non-GAAP measures such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and free cash flow. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today's press release.

請注意，在本次電話會議中，我們將引用若干非GAAP衡量指標，例如調整後EBITDA、調整後淨利以及自由現金流。這些非GAAP指標旨在補充可比較的GAAP指標。GAAP與非GAAP指標之間的調節表已包含於今日新聞稿中。

I will now turn the call over to Peter Dameris. Peter?

現在我把電話交給Peter Dameris。Peter？

Thank you, Kimberly. Welcome to the On Assignment First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. Joining me today are Ted Hanson, Rand Blazer and George Wilson, who will review our performance for the quarter and Ed Pierce, who will review ASGN's financial results for the first quarter and our estimates for the second quarter of 2019.

謝謝你，Kimberly。歡迎參加On Assignment 2019年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有Ted Hanson、Rand Blazer與George Wilson，他們將回顧本季的營運表現；以及Ed Pierce，他將回顧ASGN第一季的財務結果與我們對2019年第二季的預估。

Before we walk through the results of the quarter, I want to discuss my decision to step down from my role as CEO of ASGN. Some of you know my eldest -- my youngest son has been battling acute myeloid leukemia for 14 months. After a successful stem cell transplant in August 2018, his leukemia has returned and he will require additional treatment, including a second stem cell transplant. Therefore, at this time, I must step back so that I can devote my time and energy to what is most important, my children's health and my family's welfare.

在我們逐一說明本季結果之前，我想談談我決定卸任ASGN執行長職務的決定。有些人知道，我的長子——我的么子已與急性骨髓性白血病搏鬥了14個月。在2018年8月成功接受幹細胞移植後，他的白血病復發，將需要進一步治療，包括第二次幹細胞移植。因此，在此時我必須退居一步，好讓我能把時間與精力投入在最重要的事情上，也就是孩子的健康與家人的福祉。

It has been an honor to serve this company for the past 15 years and I have full confidence that it will continue to thrive under Ted's leadership. In fact, and many of you have seen this in action, the Board and I have been preparing Ted for this transition for over 2 years. Ted has not only been intimately involved in the development and execution of our business strategy, but he has also spent considerable time over the past couple of years representing ASGN at investor road shows and conference presentations.

過去15年能為這家公司服務是我的榮幸，我完全有信心在Ted的領導下，公司將持續蓬勃發展。事實上，正如許多人已親眼見證，董事會與我已為這次交接準備了超過兩年。Ted不僅深度參與我們商業策略的制定與執行，過去幾年也花了相當多時間在投資人路演與會議簡報中代表ASGN。

I think you will all agree Ted has full command of ASGN's strategies and financial planning given he has been the primary -- has had the primary responsibility for their development over these past years. ASGN is in very good hands with Ted and the rest of the senior management team.

我想各位都會同意，Ted對ASGN的策略與財務規劃掌握得非常到位，因為過去這些年他一直——主要負責其制定工作。在Ted以及其他高階管理團隊的帶領下，ASGN正由非常可靠的團隊掌舵。

As for me, I will remain on ASGN's Board of Directors and also be an adviser to the company and as such, will be able to help complete the management transition, contribute my institutional knowledge and expertise as needed, and help the company with M&A activities, which is something I have done many times in the past.

至於我，我將繼續擔任ASGN董事會成員，同時也會擔任公司的顧問；因此，我能協助完成管理層交接、在需要時貢獻我對公司的制度性知識與專業，並協助公司進行併購（M&A）活動——這也是我過去多次從事的工作。

As I enter my new role at the company, I want to thank every employee, client and shareholder who has had the confidence in all of us to participate in building this great company.

在我進入公司新角色之際，我要感謝每一位員工、客戶與股東，感謝你們對我們所有人的信任，讓我們能共同參與打造這家卓越的公司。

And on a personal note, I want to thank everyone who has allowed me to make family my first priority. Our best years are ahead of ASGN because of our positioning, size, senior management team, and most importantly, how work is performed in today's economy.

另外，就個人而言，我也要感謝每一位讓我能把家庭放在第一順位的人。由於我們的市場定位、規模、高階管理團隊，以及最重要的是當今經濟中工作的執行方式，ASGN最好的歲月仍在前方。

With that, I would like to turn it over to -- the call over to Ted to discuss this quarter's results. Ted?

接下來，我想把——把電話交給Ted來討論本季的結果。Ted？

Thank you, Peter. I'll begin today's discussion by commenting at a high level on the markets we serve as well as some of the key financial highlights for the quarter.

謝謝你，Peter。我將以較高層次的角度開始今天的討論，先談談我們所服務的市場，以及本季幾項重要的財務亮點。

Revenues for the quarter were $923.7 million, up 34.8% year-over-year on a reported basis, or 10.7% on a pro forma basis. This improvement was driven by a number of factors, including our IT business, which continues to see high demand from customers due in part to greater adoption of staff augmentation as a viable alternative to outsourcing, off-shoring and consulting services.

本季營收為9.237億美元，按申報口徑年增34.8%，按備考（pro forma）口徑年增10.7%。這項改善由多項因素帶動，其中包括我們的IT業務；由於客戶對人力增補（staff augmentation）的採用增加，將其視為外包、離岸（off-shoring）與顧問服務的可行替代方案，因此需求持續強勁。

We believe that we are well positioned to continue to service our customers' IT needs as technology rapidly evolves and is adopted. In fact, our size and service offerings allow us to grow faster than published IT services industry growth rates, and we believe that we are well positioned to generate solid above-market revenue growth in the future.

我們相信，隨著科技快速演進並被採用，我們具備良好定位，能持續滿足客戶的IT需求。事實上，我們的規模與服務組合使我們能以高於已公布的IT服務產業成長率的速度成長；我們也相信，未來我們具備良好定位，可創造穩健、優於市場的營收成長。

Adjusted EBITDA was $97.1 million and our cash generation continues to be at or above our expectations. Free cash flow was $36.5 million and our leverage ratio was 2.65x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA at quarter end. We are estimating that our leverage ratio will be approximately 2.45x at the end of the second quarter and approximately 2x at the end of the year.

調整後EBITDA為9,710萬美元，我們的現金創造能力持續達到或高於預期。自由現金流為3,650萬美元，季末槓桿比率為過去12個月調整後EBITDA的2.65倍。我們預估槓桿比率在第二季末約為2.45倍，並在年底約為2倍。

With respect to recent production at our Apex and Oxford segments, our weekly assignment revenues, which exclude conversion, billable expenses and direct placement revenues averaged $56 million for the last 2 weeks of the quarter, up 12.9% over the same period in 2018.

就Apex與Oxford部門近期的產出而言，我們的每週派遣營收（不含轉換、可報銷費用與直接安置營收）在本季最後兩週平均為5,600萬美元，較2018年同期成長12.9%。

Our Federal IT services and solutions business continues to see new long-term contract awards, robust spending against existing contracts, and the positive benefits of increased funding for and visibility of defense, intelligence and federal civilian agency budgets, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

我們的聯邦IT服務與解決方案業務持續獲得新的長期合約授標、既有合約的支出強勁，並受惠於國防、情報與聯邦民用機構預算在資金增加與可見度提升所帶來的正面效益，尤其是在人工智慧與機器學習領域。

During the quarter, ECS secured $255.7 million in new awards. George will speak in more detail regarding these recent awards shortly.

本季期間，ECS取得2.557億美元的新授標。George稍後將就這些近期授標進一步詳細說明。

For the first quarter, all 3 of our segments continued to contribute to ASGN's growth. The Apex segment grew 12.5% year-over-year and the Oxford segment grew 2% year-over-year. The growth rate for both segments was on 1 fewer billable day and revenues at Oxford in Q1 of 2018 benefited from favorable currency exchange rates.

第一季中，我們三個事業部門皆持續為ASGN的成長做出貢獻。Apex部門年增12.5%，Oxford部門年增2%。兩個部門的成長率皆是在可計費天數少1天的情況下達成，且Oxford在2018年第一季的營收受惠於有利的匯率變動。

The Apex and Oxford markets we serve in IT, Digital/Creative Marketing, Life Sciences and Engineering all remained stable and productive during and exiting the quarter. Shifts in the way our customers are supporting their business needs and completing projects remain in our favor. While our staffing services continue to grow, and we take market share with greater than market growth rates, our value-added service offerings or consultative work are growing at an even faster pace.

我們在IT、數位/創意行銷、生命科學與工程等領域所服務的Apex與Oxford市場，在本季期間及季末時仍維持穩定且具生產力。客戶支援其業務需求與完成專案的方式之轉變，仍對我們有利。在我們的人才派遣服務持續成長、並以高於市場的成長率取得市占的同時，我們的加值型服務或顧問式工作正以更快的速度成長。

I would like to make a few comments on the performance of the Oxford segment and then turn the call over to Rand, who will discuss the performance of the Apex segment.

我想先就 Oxford 部門的表現做幾點評論，接著把電話交給 Rand，由他說明 Apex 部門的表現。

Revenues for the segment were $149.6 million, up 2% year-over-year. On a same billable day and constant currency basis, the growth rate for the segment would have been 3.5 percentage points higher than reported. Growth was from assignment revenues as permanent placement was down from the first quarter of 2018. The growth in assignment revenues was driven by high growth in our European operations and certain of our domestic practices.

該部門營收為 1.496 億美元，年增 2%。若以相同可計費天數並以固定匯率計算，該部門的成長率將比公告數字高出 3.5 個百分點。成長主要來自派遣（assignment）營收，因為永久職缺媒合（permanent placement）較 2018 年第一季下滑。派遣營收的成長由我們歐洲營運的高成長，以及部分國內業務線的表現所帶動。

Gross margin for the segment was down year-over-year, due mainly to a lower mix of permanent placement revenues in the quarter, and to a lesser extent, lower assignment margins related to changes in business mix. We continue to see better productivity and solid year-over-year improvement in the conversion of gross profit into EBITDA.

該部門毛利率較去年同期下滑，主要原因是本季永久職缺媒合營收占比降低；其次是因業務組合變化，導致派遣毛利率略降。我們持續看到更佳的生產力，以及毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的能力在年對年上有穩健改善。

I'll now turn the call over to Rand Blazer. Rand?

我現在把電話交給 Rand Blazer。Rand？

All right. Thanks, Ted. The Apex segment, which consists of Apex Systems and Creative Circle business units again reported solid results for the quarter. Revenues for the segment were $606.1 million, up 12.5% year-over-year on 1 fewer billable day than the first quarter of 2018.

好的。謝謝，Ted。Apex 部門由 Apex Systems 與 Creative Circle 兩個事業單位組成，本季再次繳出穩健的成績。該部門營收為 6.061 億美元，年增 12.5%，且本季可計費天數較 2018 年第一季少 1 天。

Apex, which now includes the results of Apex Systems and Life Sciences, accounted for 83.7% of the segment's revenues in the quarter, and grew 14.1% year-over-year. Our Creative Circle unit posted year-over-year growth of 5.3%. Growth at both units was on 1 fewer billable day in the quarter compared to Q1 2018.

Apex（現已包含 Apex Systems 與 Life Sciences 的業績）占該部門本季營收的 83.7%，年增 14.1%。我們的 Creative Circle 單位年對年成長 5.3%。兩個單位的成長皆是在本季可計費天數較 2018 年第一季少 1 天的情況下達成。

Gross margin for the segment was down from the first quarter of 2018 mainly related to a lower mix of perm placement revenue and a lower assignment gross margin driven by the higher growth in our top accounts relative to our retail accounts in the quarter. Our top accounts generally carry, as you know, lower gross margins. The segment's conversion rate of gross profit into adjusted EBITDA after considering the $1.4 million onetime adjustment referenced in our press release was slightly lower than the Q1 of 2018.

該部門毛利率較 2018 年第一季下滑，主要與永久職缺媒合營收占比降低有關，另派遣毛利率也下降，原因是本季我們前幾大客戶的成長高於零售型客戶，帶動業務組合變化。如各位所知，我們的前幾大客戶通常毛利率較低。在考量新聞稿中提及的 140 萬美元一次性調整後，該部門毛利轉換為調整後 EBITDA 的比率略低於 2018 年第一季。

Overall, for the quarter, the Apex segment's performance was driven by a number of factors, including: double-digit revenue growth in 5 of the 8 industry verticals we service, including Aerospace & Defense, Financial Services, Healthcare, Consumer Industrial, and Technology industry accounts.

整體而言，本季 Apex 部門的表現由多項因素帶動，包括：我們服務的 8 個產業垂直領域中，有 5 個出現兩位數營收成長，包含航太與國防、金融服務、醫療保健、消費工業，以及科技產業客戶。

Please note that of the remaining 3 industry verticals: Life Sciences accounts grew mid-single digits, while telecommunications accounts were flat year-over-year and business services accounts contracted year-over-year. We posted double-digit growth in both the segment's top and retailer branch-centric accounts with top accounts growing at a higher rate.

請注意其餘 3 個產業垂直領域中：生命科學客戶呈現中個位數成長；電信客戶年對年持平；商業服務客戶年對年下滑。我們在該部門的前幾大客戶與以分公司為中心的零售型客戶兩者皆達成兩位數成長，其中前幾大客戶的成長率更高。

Growth in Statement of Work or consultative type work also continued to outpace our expectations and our overall revenue growth rate.

工作說明書（Statement of Work）或顧問型工作之成長也持續超出我們的預期，且高於整體營收成長率。

And lastly, Creative Circle's revenue growth was propelled by growth in our top accounts. As such, we remain focused on realigning our Creative Circle sales team to the changing demand of the client base, including additional focus on selected top accounts.

最後，Creative Circle 的營收成長由我們前幾大客戶的成長所推動。因此，我們仍專注於依客戶群需求變化，重新調整 Creative Circle 的銷售團隊配置，包括對特定前幾大客戶加強投入。

To summarize, the Apex segment posted strong results for the quarter. Apex growth continues to outpace the growth rate of the overall IT staffing industry, and this segment continues to gain market share as Ted noted earlier.

總結來說，Apex 部門本季繳出強勁成果。Apex 的成長持續超越整體 IT 人力派遣產業的成長率，且如 Ted 先前所提，本部門持續擴大市占。

I'll now turn the call over to George Wilson to speak about our ECS segment. George?

我現在把電話交給 George Wilson，請他談談我們的 ECS 部門。George？

Thank you, Rand. ECS posted very good performance in the first quarter of 2019, both from a financial and operational standpoint. ECS revenues were $168 million, up 12.7% year-over-year, including a $10 million contribution from DHA. Excluding the contribution from DHA, the ECS segment year-over-year growth rate was 6%. This growth remains ahead of the peer industry average in the federal technology space.

謝謝你，Rand。ECS 在 2019 年第一季無論在財務或營運面都表現非常出色。ECS 營收為 1.68 億美元，年增 12.7%，其中包含 DHA 貢獻的 1,000 萬美元。若排除 DHA 的貢獻，ECS 部門年對年成長率為 6%。此成長仍高於聯邦科技領域同業平均水準。

EBITDA margin for the quarter was up over the fourth quarter, but down from the first quarter of 2018. During the quarter, we secured a total of $255.7 million in contract awards across a wide range of customers, which resulted in a very healthy book-to-bill ratio of 1.5 to 1. We continue to see strong proposal activity and therefore have made additional investments in our solution architects and proposal teams to leverage these opportunities. We currently have a backlog of proposals submitted and awaiting award of over $1.5 billion, an all-time high for ECS.

本季 EBITDA 利潤率較第四季上升，但低於 2018 年第一季。本季我們在廣泛的客戶群中共取得 2.557 億美元的合約得標，使得接單出貨比（book-to-bill）達到非常健康的 1.5 比 1。我們持續看到強勁的提案活動，因此也加碼投資於解決方案架構師與提案團隊，以把握這些機會。目前我們已提交且等待得標的提案累計超過 15 億美元，創 ECS 歷史新高。

Some recent awards contributing to our growth include our project to support the U.S. Postal Service in both cyber security and digital transformation. We also began work during the first quarter under a key cyber-security effort with the FBI.

近期帶動成長的部分得標案包括：我們支援美國郵政署在資安與數位轉型方面的專案。我們也在第一季開始為 FBI 的一項關鍵資安計畫展開工作。

At the end of the first quarter, ECS had $1.8 billion in total contract backlog, which equates to a healthy coverage ratio of 2.5x our trailing 12-month revenues adjusted to include DHA.

截至第一季末，ECS 的合約在手訂單總額為 18 億美元，換算為健康的涵蓋倍數為過去 12 個月營收（並調整納入 DHA）之 2.5 倍。

In the first quarter, ECS continued to strengthen its technical skills and business partnerships with commercial providers in the cloud, cyber, risk management and artificial intelligence end markets.

第一季期間，ECS 持續強化其技術能力，並在雲端、資安、風險管理與人工智慧等終端市場，深化與商業供應商的業務合作夥伴關係。

To summarize, we are pleased with ECS results for the quarter and we look forward to sharing our successes in the future.

總結來說，我們對 ECS 本季的成果感到滿意，並期待未來與各位分享更多成功進展。

I'll now turn the call over to Ed Pierce to discuss ASGN's consolidated financial results for the quarter. Ed?

我現在把電話交給 Ed Pierce，請他說明 ASGN 本季的合併財務結果。Ed？

Thanks, George. As Ted mentioned earlier, revenues for the quarter were up 10.7% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. Pro forma amounts assume the acquisition of ECS occurred at the beginning of 2017, but do not include the pre-acquisition results of DHA, which was acquired on January 25 of this year. For the quarter, DHA contributed approximately $10 million to our consolidated revenues.

謝謝你，George。如 Ted 先前提到，以擬制（pro forma）基礎計算，本季營收年增 10.7%。擬制金額假設 ECS 的收購發生於 2017 年初，但不包含 DHA 在收購前的業績；DHA 於今年 1 月 25 日完成收購。本季 DHA 約為我們的合併營收貢獻 1,000 萬美元。

If you exclude DHA, our growth rate for the quarter was 9.5% and adjusting for year-over-year differences in billable days and changes in currency exchange rates, the growth rate for the quarter would have been 2 percentage points higher.

若排除 DHA，本季成長率為 9.5%；並在調整年對年可計費天數差異與匯率變動後，本季成長率將再高出 2 個百分點。

Gross margin for the quarter was 28.6% compared with 29.3% in Q1 of last year on a pro forma basis. Approximately half of the year-over-year decline resulted from the lower mix of permanent placement revenues and the remainder was split between lower assignment gross margin, mainly related to changes in business mix and the inclusion of DHA, which has a lower gross margin than ECS as a whole.

本季毛利率為 28.6%，相較去年第一季（以擬制基礎）為 29.3%。年對年下滑約有一半來自永久職缺媒合營收占比降低；其餘則由派遣毛利率較低（主要與業務組合變化有關）以及納入 DHA 所致（DHA 的毛利率低於整體 ECS）所共同造成。

SG&A expenses for the quarter were $187.4 million or 20.3% of revenues. SG&A included acquisition and integration expenses of $1.4 million, mainly related to the DHA acquisition.

本季 SG&A 費用為 1.874 億美元，占營收 20.3%。SG&A 包含 140 萬美元的併購與整合費用，主要與 DHA 收購相關。

As a reminder, we do not include these types of expenses in our guidance estimates. SG&A also included expense of $1.4 million related to the resolution of a pay rate dispute on services provided in prior periods by Apex Systems to a large systems integrator.

提醒一下，我們在指引預估中不會納入這類費用。SG&A 亦包含 140 萬美元費用，與 Apex Systems 就先前期間向一家大型系統整合商提供服務所引發的薪資費率爭議之解決相關。

Interest expense for the quarter was $14.5 million, up from $14.3 million in Q4. The sequential increase in interest expense primarily related to a slightly higher interest rate.

本季利息費用為 1,450 萬美元，高於第四季的 1,430 萬美元。利息費用的季增主要與利率略為上升有關。

Our effective income tax for the quarter was 27.7%, which was above our guidance estimate of 26.5%. This rate variance primarily related to changes in estimates for the effects of tax reform on income taxes for 2018 that was partially offset by excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, which we do not include in our guidance estimates.

本季有效所得稅率為 27.7%，高於我們指引預估的 26.5%。此稅率差異主要與我們對 2018 年稅改對所得稅影響之估計變動有關，部分被以股票為基礎之薪酬所產生的超額稅務利益所抵銷；而該等超額稅務利益我們不納入指引預估。

Net income for the quarter was $34.9 million, up from $29.1 million in the first quarter of 2018. And adjusting for acquisition and integration expenses of $1.4 million, net income was within our previously announced guidance estimates. Adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, was $49.4 million, up from $44 million in the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $97.1 million, up from $74.8 million in the first quarter of 2018 on a reported basis.

本季淨利為 3,490 萬美元，高於 2018 年第一季的 2,910 萬美元。若調整併購與整合費用 140 萬美元後，淨利落在我們先前公布的指引預估範圍內。調整後淨利（非 GAAP 指標）為 4,940 萬美元，高於 2018 年第一季的 4,400 萬美元。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 9,710 萬美元，按申報口徑高於 2018 年第一季的 7,480 萬美元。

Cash flows from operating activities were $44 million and free cash flow was $36.5 million. Note that seasonally free cash flows are lower in the first quarter than the other 3 quarters mainly due to the payroll tax reset that occurs at the beginning of the year and the payment of annual incentive compensation that was earned and accrued in the preceding year.

營運活動現金流為 4,400 萬美元，自由現金流為 3,650 萬美元。請注意，季節性因素使第一季自由現金流通常低於其他三季，主要因為年初會發生薪資稅重置，以及支付前一年度賺取並已計提的年度獎勵薪酬。

For Q1 of this year, free cash flow was also affected by higher-than-normal accounts receivable days sales outstanding. DSOs for the quarter were 61 days, up approximately 1 day sequentially and 2 days year-over-year. Each DSO day is approximately $10 million.

今年第一季的自由現金流亦受到應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）高於正常水準的影響。本季 DSO 為 61 天，較前一季約增加 1 天，較去年同期增加 2 天。每增加 1 天 DSO 約相當於 1,000 萬美元。

I would now like to make a few comments on our guidance estimates for the second quarter of 2019.

接下來我想就我們對 2019 年第二季的指引預估做幾點說明。

For Q2, we estimate revenues will range from $967 million to $977 million. This implies revenue growth of 10.1% to 11.2% on a reported basis. Estimated billable days for Q2 are 64, which is the same number as the second quarter of 2018. And we also estimate the mix of permanent placement revenues will improve sequentially, but would be down year-over-year from the second quarter of last year.

第二季我們預估營收將介於 9.67 億至 9.77 億美元。這代表按申報口徑的營收成長為 10.1% 至 11.2%。我們預估第二季可計費天數為 64 天，與 2018 年第二季相同。我們也預估永久派遣（permanent placement）營收占比將較前一季改善，但較去年第二季將下滑。

We estimate gross margin will range from 29.3% to 29.7%. This range considers, among other things, the mix of permanent placement revenues, other changes in our business mix and the addition of DHA, which has lower gross margins than ECS as a whole. We estimate net income will range from $48.6 million to $52.3 million and that our adjusted EBITDA will range from $113.7 million to $118.7 million or 11.8% to 12.1% of revenues.

我們預估毛利率將介於 29.3% 至 29.7%。此區間考量了多項因素，包括永久派遣營收占比、我們業務組合的其他變化，以及併入 DHA（其毛利率低於 ECS 整體）。我們預估淨利將介於 4,860 萬至 5,230 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 將介於 1.137 億至 1.187 億美元，約占營收的 11.8% 至 12.1%。

I will now turn the call back over to Peter for some closing remarks. Peter?

現在我把電話交回給 Peter 做一些結語。Peter？

Thanks, Ed. As our quarterly results continue to prove out, our scale, size and breadth of services has us positioned well to benefit during a period of historic secular growth for the services industry. Without a doubt, the world of work is changing. Accelerating digital transformation, coupled with favorable labor and immigration legislation and an improving U.S. government market are all market forces occurring in our space.

謝謝你，Ed。隨著我們的季度業績持續驗證，我們的規模、體量與服務廣度，使我們在服務產業歷史性的長期結構性成長期間，具備良好受益定位。毫無疑問，工作的世界正在改變。加速的數位轉型，加上有利的勞動與移民立法，以及美國政府市場的改善，都是在我們領域中發生的市場力量。

We are optimistic that ASGN is well situated to continue experiencing strong results into the foreseeable future. The entire ASGN team was pleased with our first quarter performance. We have a healthy tailwind in all of our segments that should drive strong performance over the remainder of the year.

我們樂觀認為，ASGN 已處於有利位置，能在可預見的未來持續展現強勁成果。整個 ASGN 團隊對我們第一季的表現感到滿意。我們在所有事業部門都有健康的順風因素，應能帶動今年剩餘期間的強勁表現。

To conclude our prepared remarks, I want to take a moment to again thank our employees, stockholders and Board of Directors for having given me the privilege to lead this company over the last 15 years. Thank you for your time. And I would like now to open the call up to participants for questions. Operator?

在結束我們事先準備的發言前，我想再次花點時間感謝員工、股東以及董事會，讓我在過去 15 年有幸領導這家公司。感謝各位撥冗。接下來我想開放讓與會者提問。接線員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Gary Bisbee.

(接線員指示) 我們的第一個問題來自 Gary Bisbee。

Pete, I just wanted to start by saying it has been a real pleasure, you've done a terrific job and sorry to see you go under the circumstances. But my best wishes certainly to you and your family.

Pete，我想先說，能與你共事真的是一種榮幸，你做得非常出色，也很遺憾在這樣的情況下看到你離開。但我誠摯祝福你和你的家人一切順利。

Questions on the business, a couple that, Ed, if I could first just clarify, you called out 3 items that weren't in your guidance. One, the acquisition and integration charges you've historically added back, and it looked like you did. Were the other 2 items not added back to the adjusted earnings that you represent in the press release?

關於業務有幾個問題。Ed，如果可以我先釐清一下，你提到有 3 項不在你們指引中的項目。第一，併購與整合費用你們過去一向會加回，看起來你們也確實加回了。另外兩項是否沒有加回到你們在新聞稿中所呈現的調整後盈餘？

They were not. The only thing that we add back in the adjusted earnings are the integration and acquisition expenses. So the other 2 items, the resolution and the income tax matter were not.

沒有加回。我們在調整後盈餘中唯一加回的是整合與併購費用。所以另外兩項，也就是該項爭議解決與所得稅事項，並沒有加回。

And how much on an after-tax basis was that about?

那以稅後口徑大約是多少？

It would have been $1.8 million for those 2 items.

那兩項合計會是 180 萬美元。

And (multiple speakers) on an adjusted EPS basis?

（多位發言者）那以調整後 EPS 口徑呢？

It would add another 3 or so cents.

大約會再增加 3 美分左右。

A couple more cents?

再多幾美分？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Great. And then you continue to talk about within Apex the consulting engagements growing faster. Can you give us any color, like should we think of any major differences? I know the profitability is a little better, but are the length of those engagements or the scale of those engagements, or any other major things different relative to the traditional assignment engagements in that business?

好的。很好。另外，你們持續提到在 Apex 內部，顧問型專案成長更快。你能否提供一些說明，例如我們是否應該認為有任何重大差異？我知道獲利能力稍好一些，但這些專案的期間、規模，或其他相較於該業務中傳統派遣型案子的重大差異是什麼？

Gary, this is Ted. I'll say a couple things about it and let Rand finish it off. But within that work, obviously because it's project-related work, the scale of the engagement is larger than any 1, let's say, placement in the Staff Aug business might be for sure.

Gary，我是 Ted。我先說幾點，然後讓 Rand 補充。在這類工作中，因為是專案型工作，合作案的規模顯然會比人力派遣（Staff Aug）業務中任何單一派遣（placement）要大。

As you noted the gross margins were slightly better in that area than they are in our Staff Aug business. And as we have said in the past, it's growing at a greater rate than our Staff Aug business. So just to give you some color around all of that. Rand, anything else you would add?

如你所提到，那一塊的毛利率比我們的人力派遣業務略好一些。而且如同我們過去所說，它的成長速度也高於我們的人力派遣業務。以上提供一些背景供你參考。Rand，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No. I think you responded to his question.

沒有。我認為你已經回答了他的問題。

And then just one last one if I could. From a high level there has been some softening in some of the economic data. It doesn't look like from your quarter or the guidance you're seeing much of that. Any change in tone from your clients? Or is it pretty much as you have described it in the last few quarters?

然後如果可以的話，我最後再問一個。從宏觀層面來看，一些經濟數據似乎有所走弱。但從你們本季表現或你們給出的指引來看，似乎沒有看到太多這方面的影響。你們客戶的語氣有任何變化嗎？還是基本上就如同你們過去幾季所描述的那樣？

I would describe it as steady. I mean, I don't think we're having client conversations that are any different than we've had in prior quarters. As Rand noted certain industries are up or down more than others but I think that's the natural ebb and flow of the industries, and so we view it as a steady marketplace.

我會形容為穩定。我的意思是，我不認為我們與客戶的對話和前幾季有任何不同。正如Rand提到的，某些產業表現會比其他產業更好或更差，但我認為那是產業自然的起伏循環，因此我們把它視為一個穩定的市場環境。

And our next question comes from Kevin McVeigh.

下一個問題來自Kevin McVeigh。

Great. Peter, let me pass along my thanks to you and best wishes to your family. It's been great working with you as well.

很好。Peter，請讓我轉達對你的感謝，也祝福你的家人一切順利。能與你合作也非常愉快。

I just want to talk about the backlog. It seems like the backlog rose by about $330 million to $1.8 billion. So real good visibility there. Is there any way to think about how that comes in and would there be any nuances to the DHA versus just kind of the generic contract wins that you're winning in the normal course of business?

我想談談在手訂單（backlog）。看起來在手訂單增加了大約3.3億美元，達到18億美元。因此可見度非常好。有沒有什麼方式可以理解這些訂單的進來節奏？另外，DHA相較於你們在日常業務中贏得的一般合約案，是否會有任何細微差異？

George, why don't you go first, please?

George，你先回答，好嗎？

Yes. Sure, the contract backlog did come from a wide range of awards that we recently got. And some of them are on extended periods like a 5-year contract [like that] which is driving that. But it is normal course. And we have had several quarters now where we have posted above 1, which is driving the increase.

好的。當然，合約在手訂單確實來自我們近期取得的各式各樣的得標案。其中有些是較長期間的案子，例如5年期合約，這也推動了在手訂單的增加。但這仍屬於正常業務進程。而且我們已經連續好幾季的book-to-bill高於1，這也帶動了在手訂單的上升。

Got it. And then Peter or whomever is best. With Epsilon being acquired by Publicis and more on the creative side, as the demand changes there, does that impact on the creative from a sourcing perspective or just increase the value proposition amongst their clients? Just any thoughts? It seems like there's just a lot more M&A within that sector overall.

了解。接著Peter或最適合回答的人。Epsilon被Publicis收購後，且更偏向創意端，隨著那邊需求的變化，這會不會從採購/外包的角度影響創意相關資源？或只是提升他們在客戶之間的價值主張？想聽聽你們的看法。看起來整個產業的併購活動也多了很多。

Well, 2 points. One, I think that the ad agencies are having to become more technology-based than they were in the past and that's what the Sapient deal and this last one, Epsilon, were to do is to be able to -- I'm being kind of lighthearted, but instead of drawing pretty pictures, being able to create the technology that enables the solution.

我想有兩點。第一，我認為廣告代理商必須比過去更科技導向；Sapient那筆交易以及這次Epsilon的交易，目的都是為了能夠——我講得輕鬆一點——不只是畫漂亮的圖，而是能打造出讓解決方案得以落地的技術。

It's hand-to-hand warfare for anybody who has certain types of technology skills. These companies like Sapient and Epsilon work on a salaried bench model versus a W2 hourly model like we do.

對於具備某些類型技術技能的人才而言，這是一場貼身肉搏戰。像Sapient和Epsilon這類公司採用的是「領薪待命（bench）」的薪資制模式，而不是像我們這樣的W2按小時計薪模式。

So I don't think it has increased the competition for billable staff. I think it has changed the customer base a little bit where they are now more of a competitor than they were in the past. And we have intentionally tried to change our customer mix to be more reliant on corporations than agencies where we would be a subcontractor. So I think that's the response to your question.

所以我不認為這增加了對可計費人員（billable staff）的競爭。我認為它稍微改變了客戶結構，因為他們現在比過去更像競爭對手。而我們也刻意調整客戶組合，讓我們更依賴企業客戶，而不是依賴代理商客戶（在那種情況下我們通常是分包商）。所以我想這就是對你問題的回應。

It sounds like overall definitely more demand as opposed to less which is a great outcome.

聽起來整體而言，需求確實是增加而不是減少，這是很好的結果。

And our next question comes from Edward Caso.

下一個問題來自Edward Caso。

I will pass along my thoughts and we will miss you Peter. My question is around capital deployment here, sort of what's the focus here? You haven't bought back stock in a while. Is it more M&A focused and then what type of M&A?

我也想表達我的關心，我們會想念你，Peter。我的問題是關於資本配置（capital deployment），目前的重點是什麼？你們有一段時間沒有回購股票了。是否更聚焦在併購？如果是，那會是什麼類型的併購？

Yes. So we do have a change at the helm, but as you know, Ted has been a primary partner of mine in building our financial and strategic plan. And our response to your question really hasn't changed. Our available capital competes internally for whatever is best long term for shareholders whether it's share repurchase, repayment of debt or acquisitions.

是的。我們的確會有領導層的變動，但如你所知，Ted一直是我在建立財務與策略計畫上的主要夥伴。因此我們對你問題的回應其實沒有改變。我們可用資本會在內部競爭，選擇對股東長期最有利的用途，不論是股票回購、償還債務或進行收購。

And our focus on acquisitions remains to get: one, ECS to $1 billion in revenue in the next 3 to 4 years; and two, to see if we can find -- which is much more difficult, but see if we can find a good partner for Apex to help them as they continue to build out their SOW business.

而我們在收購上的重點仍是：第一，在未來3到4年內把ECS的營收做到10億美元；第二，看看能否——這更困難——為Apex找到一個合適的合作夥伴，協助他們在持續擴展其SOW（工作說明書）業務的過程中更上一層樓。

Can you talk a little bit about your perm, which has generally been trending down. Is it -- have we found bottom yet in the percentage or is there still sort of further movement downward?

你能談談你們的永久職缺安置（perm）嗎？它整體趨勢一直在下滑。目前在占比上是否已經觸底？還是仍可能繼續往下？

Ed, I think the good thing about our business model if you will is that it's not a perm-driven model. You've seen it come from nearly 5% of revenues, now down to a little over 3%. Our perm in our looking forward is going to be a little bit better in the second quarter, but it's a -- the majority of our perm comes within the IT market.

Ed，我認為我們商業模式的一個優點是，它不是以perm為驅動的模式。你已經看到它從接近營收的5%，下降到現在略高於3%。展望未來，我們第二季的perm會稍微好一些，但——我們的perm大多來自IT市場。

And right now the way that market is behaving, and this has been historically, it's not always the place where you get the largest growth in perm placement. So it's a business that we -- our perm is certainly a part of our business, but it's not the dominant part. And so you will see it kind of stay within this range of 3% to 4% of revenues.

而就目前該市場的表現方式來看，且從歷史上也是如此，它並不總是perm安置成長最大的地方。所以perm確實是我們業務的一部分，但不是主導部分。因此你會看到它大致維持在營收的3%到4%這個區間。

Ed, I would add that what Ted said is the durability of our profit margin is based on the fact of how we run our business. One, our -- on a same number of billable day basis we grew, what was it, 12.5% and that was based on volume growth. That wasn't based on bill rate expansion. So that's always a much more durable model than just constantly raising your pricing.

Ed，我補充一下，Ted所說的是：我們獲利率的耐久性（durability）是建立在我們經營方式之上。第一，在相同可計費天數（billable day）的基礎上，我們成長了——是多少，12.5%——而那是由量的成長帶動。那不是靠提高計費費率（bill rate）擴張帶動的。所以這種模式比起不斷提高價格要耐久得多。

The second thing is our EBITDA margin will not fluctuate nearly as much as a company that is highly dependent on perm placement because it's just not that big a contributor to our business and it's by design. We want them to have healthy growth and we want to support them, but we have also told those teams we want -- even though it's the most economically sensitive, we want you focused on the business that even in slower economic times has a chance to still be in demand.

第二，我們的EBITDA利潤率不會像高度依賴perm安置的公司那樣大幅波動，因為perm對我們業務的貢獻並不大，這也是刻意設計的。我們希望他們有健康的成長，也希望支持他們，但我們也告訴那些團隊：即便這是最受景氣影響的部分，我們仍希望你們把重心放在即使在經濟放緩時仍有機會保持需求的業務上。

And our next question comes from Jeff Silber.

下一個問題來自Jeff Silber。

Peter, I just wanted to say that our thoughts and prayers are with you as well. In terms of my question. I think I asked this last quarter. I'm going to ask this again. When I look at the supplement material, there is lot of information. I think this is the second consecutive quarter we've seen a decline in staffing consultants at Oxford. Is there something more going on there? I'm just curious why we are continuing to see this.

Peter，我也想說我們的心意與祈禱與你同在。關於我的問題。我想我上季問過這個。我再問一次。當我看補充資料時，裡面資訊很多。我認為這是我們連續第二季看到Oxford的派遣顧問（staffing consultants）人數下降。那邊是否有更多事情正在發生？我只是好奇為什麼我們持續看到這種情況。

Remember that Oxford number that we report there encompasses both our Oxford Core as well as our CyberCoders business. We are steady, I would say, on the Oxford side and we are adding to headcount there where we think we have opportunities. And the headcount is up and down a little bit at CyberCoders based on just how we are looking at that business from a strategic standpoint. But I wouldn't say there is anything more than that within those numbers.

請記住，我們在那裡報告的 Oxford 數字同時涵蓋我們的 Oxford Core 以及我們的 CyberCoders 業務。我會說，在 Oxford 這邊我們維持穩定，並且在我們認為有機會的地方增加人力編制。而在 CyberCoders 方面，人力編制會依我們從策略角度如何看待該業務而有些上下波動。但我不會說這些數字背後還有其他因素。

Okay. And in terms of trying to get some improvements or getting that business moving in the right direction again, any thoughts you can share on the strategy of how to do that?

好的。那麼，就試圖帶來一些改善、或讓該業務再次朝正確方向推進而言，你們對於如何做到這點的策略，有沒有什麼想法可以分享？

Yes. For Oxford, we are still on the same path that we have talked about in the prior quarters. And we continue to see that the sales strategies that we're putting in place are providing growth for that business. You can see that the growth is a little bit more steady now quarter-to-quarter. It's not the same rate as maybe one of our other units because they're not serving as big a marketplace, if you will, but we can see their growth rate is in a good spot.

有的。就 Oxford 而言，我們仍然走在先前幾個季度談到的同一條路徑上。而且我們持續看到，我們正在推行的銷售策略正在為該業務帶來成長。你可以看到，現在季度對季度的成長更為穩定一些。它的成長速度可能不像我們其他某些事業單位那麼快，因為它所服務的市場規模沒有那麼大，但我們可以看到其成長率處在不錯的位置。

And most importantly, this quarter we saw an increase in our productivity, which we mentioned in the script. Our conversion of gross profit to EBITDA is improving and that tells you that our EBITDA percentage within that unit is, from a margin standpoint, improving.

而且最重要的是，本季度我們看到生產力提升，我們在講稿中也提到了。我們將毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的能力正在改善，這告訴你，從利潤率角度來看，該單位的 EBITDA 百分比正在提升。

Okay. That's good. I appreciate you pointing that out. Just a quick numbers question for you. What should we be modeling for interest expense in the current quarter?

好的。那很好。謝謝你特別指出這點。我有個快速的數字問題。本季度的利息費用，我們在模型裡應該怎麼估？

14.

14。

Tim, your line is open.

Tim，你的線路已開通。

Just want to follow up on margins, I guess. Just to be clear in terms of the gross margin spread for Apex in particular, and a little bit Oxford, is there anything besides the business mix, I guess, if you normalize for that in terms of pricing or client pressure on the bill price spreads -- pay spreads that surprised you or is it simply the mix that -- as it came in?

我想追問一下利潤率。為了確認清楚，特別是 Apex、以及一點 Oxford 的毛利率差（gross margin spread），除了業務組合之外，如果把組合因素正規化後，在定價或客戶對帳單價格差—薪酬差（bill price spreads -- pay spreads）的壓力方面，有沒有什麼讓你意外的？還是就只是組合如實反映出來？

Thanks, Tim. So on the Oxford side, it is truly business mix. Our units that are growing the fastest are coming at a slightly lower gross margin. And Rand, on the Apex side?

謝謝你，Tim。就 Oxford 這邊而言，確實就是業務組合。我們成長最快的單位，其毛利率略低一些。那 Rand，Apex 這邊呢？

It's pure mix. Our top accounts are growing so fast the retail accounts can hardly keep up. And the top accounts definitely have a slightly gross margin, and our top accounts' gross margins if you look at it over periods of time has been very steady. So it's just the mix, totally the mix.

完全是組合因素。我們的前幾大客戶成長太快，零售客戶幾乎跟不上。而前幾大客戶的毛利率確實略低一些；如果你拉長時間來看，我們前幾大客戶的毛利率一直非常穩定。所以就是組合，完全是組合。

Tim, if you look -- one more thing to add to that, if you look at both of those units together obviously perm on both sides is affecting that just a hair.

Tim，再補充一點，如果你把這兩個單位放在一起看，顯然兩邊的永久職缺（perm）也會對此造成一點點影響。

Great. Okay. And then on Creative, I guess, even normalizing for the same-day basis, it wasn't quite as strong we saw the last couple of quarters. Is there anything that was different in terms of the client engagement or demand levels in that part of the marketplace?

很好。好的。那關於 Creative，我想即使把同日基礎（same-day basis）的因素正規化，它也沒有像過去幾個季度那麼強。在那個市場區塊的客戶互動或需求水準方面，有沒有什麼不同？

Rand?

Rand？

I think you are correct. In the last 3 quarters of last year, we did quite well and in the first quarter not as well. So typically, first quarter is our slowest quarter. We saw that again so far in the first quarter, but it's the lower rate.

我想你說得沒錯。去年最後三個季度我們表現相當好，但第一季度就沒那麼好。通常第一季度是我們最慢的季度。到目前為止，我們在第一季度也再次看到這種情況，但速度更低一些。

We didn't come out of the year -- if you noticed in last year, we were 10% growth in Q2 and Q3 and fell just underneath that number in Q4. So we didn't come out of the chute strong as we got into Q1, and I think some of that is just the demand.

我們沒有在年末以很強的動能收尾——如果你注意到去年，我們在 Q2 和 Q3 是 10% 的成長，而 Q4 略低於那個數字。所以進入 Q1 時我們沒有強勢起跑，我認為其中一部分就是需求因素。

The creative marketing world is a digital marketing world and as you were talking earlier with Peter, there is churn going on in this marketplace. And we are adjusting the model a bit to wean off of ad agencies and really get into corporate accounts as Peter said. So I think we're on the right track, right progress. Unfortunately, it's a little lumpy, but I think, other than that, it's just churn in the marketplace.

創意行銷的世界就是數位行銷的世界，而如同你先前和 Peter 討論時提到的，這個市場正在發生客戶流失與更替（churn）。我們也在稍微調整模式，逐步降低對廣告代理商的依賴，並如 Peter 所說，真正切入企業客戶。所以我認為我們走在正確軌道上、進展也對。不幸的是，它會有些起伏不平，但除此之外，我認為就是市場的 churn。

And our next question comes from Tobey Sommer.

下一個問題來自 Tobey Sommer。

Peter, it's been a privilege to watch you curate the growth of the business. Good luck. I wanted to ask a question about the Statement of Work business. Could you describe the competitive moat that you may have around your business? And how you try to get an edge over the few players who compete at scale?

Peter，能看著你精心打造公司成長是一種榮幸。祝你好運。我想問一個關於工作說明書（Statement of Work）業務的問題。你能否描述一下你們在該業務周邊可能擁有的競爭護城河？以及你們如何在少數幾個具規模競爭的同業之間取得優勢？

Rand?

Rand？

Yes, Tobey, let me start by saying we have 2 major classifications of services, workforce management where we take on some responsibility for service centers center of excellence. That work has really been propelling our growth because we can get more out of the workforce and the productivity of the workforce than others that are just providing bodies or who are just putting a template out there.

好的，Tobey，我先說我們有兩大類服務：人力管理（workforce management），也就是我們承擔部分責任，為服務中心／卓越中心（center of excellence）提供支持。這項工作確實一直在推動我們的成長，因為相較於那些只是提供人頭、或只是套用模板的人，我們能從人力與其生產力中創造更多價值。

In the Enterprise Solutions area, we're getting stronger and stronger. And I think the CIO, our ultimate client, sees a price advantage with our work. We've talked, Tobey, about the 5 circles, right, and the difference between consulting and staffing and there is a hybrid in between those 2.

在企業解決方案（Enterprise Solutions）領域，我們也越來越強。而且我認為我們的最終客戶 CIO，能從我們的工作中看到價格優勢。Tobey，我們談過「五個圈」對吧，以及顧問服務與人力派遣之間的差異，而在這兩者之間存在一種混合型態。

And we have a price advantage and as long as we can show quality in our work and in quals and experience and methodologies, we are having a good time with it. So I think it's just a good sweet spot for us. We don't need to be the architects, we don't need to be the McKinseys, but there is an awful lot of good IT work to be had.

我們有價格優勢，只要我們能在交付品質、資歷（quals）與經驗、以及方法論上展現水準，我們就做得很順。所以我認為這對我們來說就是一個很好的甜蜜點。我們不需要當架構師，我們不需要成為 McKinsey，但市場上有大量優質的 IT 工作可做。

Tobey, I would add, Robert Half reported yesterday and their productivity business is doing quite well and they made a point, which we passionately agree too. If either -- in their case, they have subject matter experts. We do too, but not nearly as many. Or if the customer is willing to retain a certain amount of responsibility and architecture and project management, by working with us, they truly get the exact resource they want. They don't have to compromise on Mr. or Ms. Most Available versus Mr. or Ms. Most Appropriate.

Tobey，我補充一下，Robert Half 昨天也公布了，他們的生產力業務表現相當好，而且他們提到一點，我們也非常認同。如果——以他們的情況來說——他們有領域專家（subject matter experts）。我們也有，但數量沒那麼多。或者如果客戶願意保留一定程度的責任、架構設計與專案管理，那麼與我們合作時，他們確實能得到他們想要的精準資源。他們不必在「最有空的某先生或某女士」與「最合適的某先生或某女士」之間妥協。

So when you talk about a moat, the ability to deliver the exact resource the customer wants versus the customer not having any say into the team that works on their project is appealing. And I think that appeal will continue to grow.

所以當你談到護城河時，能交付客戶想要的精準資源——相較於客戶對於參與其專案的團隊毫無發言權——這點很有吸引力。而我認為這種吸引力會持續增強。

Peter, I think, you called that our deployment model, which is a real advantage.

Peter，我想，你把那稱為我們的部署模式，這確實是一項真正的優勢。

In the ECS business, there's a slight mix shift over the last year or so in favor of work. Is that a broad based change? Or is there kind of a single contract win that's been ramping that's been driving that?

在ECS業務中，過去一年左右在組合上略有轉移，更偏向於工作。這是一個廣泛性的變化嗎？還是說有某一個單一合約得標正在爬坡、推動了這個變化？

George?

George？

Tobey, this is George. No, it's not any in particular contract or no single contract. Just overall, we have had several contracts that have moved and some of the contracts that we have cost plus. And some of our solutions delivery, they've been growing at a faster pace than some of the other -- the rest of the company, which drives that shift.

Tobey，我是George。不，這不是任何特定合約，也不是單一合約。整體而言，我們有幾個合約發生了變動，且我們有一些合約是成本加成（cost plus）。另外，我們的一些解決方案交付業務，其成長速度快於公司其他——其餘部分，因而帶動了這個轉移。

One of the things I would point out, is the DHA acquisition. They're 100% fixed price in T&M. So we do believe that the contract mix is going to move back toward our historical highs in terms of T&M and fixed price.

我想指出的一點是DHA的收購案。他們在T&M方面是100%固定價格。因此我們確實相信，合約組合將會回到我們歷史高點的水準，也就是在T&M與固定價格方面。

So Tobey, I would point out also if you were asking about the shift in the type of work that's performed, the thing that appealed to us most about ECS was George's vision. That having successfully built Stanley from $2 million to a $1 billion, he didn't want to rebuild a company that was just a broad-based government service contractor. He wanted to build a large IT solutions government solutions provider.

所以Tobey，我也想補充，如果你問的是所執行工作的類型轉移，ECS最吸引我們的，是George的願景。他曾成功把Stanley從200萬美元做到10億美元，他不想再打造一家只是廣泛型的政府服務承包商。他想建立一家大型的IT解決方案政府解決方案供應商。

So we are really not chasing large contracts that is outsource passport renewal for the State Department or language translation for the State Department or document production for the U.S. Department of Justice. We are really focused on these higher end IT solutions and then operating some of the solutions we build, and that has been a very strategic decision George made 5, 6 years ago that we continue to execute on.

因此我們並不追逐那些大型合約，例如為國務院外包護照更新、為國務院提供語言翻譯，或為美國司法部提供文件製作。我們真正聚焦在這些高階IT解決方案，並且營運我們所建置的一些解決方案；這是George在5、6年前做出的非常策略性的決定，而我們也持續在執行。

Last question also for George, I think. Do you happen to have a view on the fiscal '20 budget trajectory?

最後一個問題也給George，我想。你是否對2020財年的預算走勢有什麼看法？

Yes. Sure I do. But nothing better than you're going to read in the papers and stuff like that. Right now I would say that it's better than it's been in a long time and the pipeline of opportunities that we're seeing and the conversation we're having with our customers, we feel very good about the remainder of '19 and moving into '20.

有。當然有。但不會比你在報紙或類似媒體上讀到的更好。就目前而言，我會說這是很長一段時間以來最好的狀況；從我們看到的機會管線以及與客戶的對話來看，我們對2019年剩餘期間以及邁入2020年都感到非常樂觀。

And our next question comes from Mark Marcon.

下一個問題來自Mark Marcon。

Peter, first of all, I want to pass along my best wishes and sympathy to you and your family, and also to express not only how I'm going to miss working with you, but just the admiration for what you've built over the last 15 years at ASGN with the entire team and then even before that, what you did with COREStaff and Metamor. It's just been fantastic to see and I'm not sure everybody fully appreciates it, but it's been tremendous.

Peter，首先，我想向你和你的家人致上我最誠摯的祝福與慰問；也想表達我不僅會想念與你共事，更敬佩你在過去15年與整個團隊一起在ASGN所建立的一切，甚至在那之前你在COREStaff與Metamor所做的事。能看到這一切真的很棒；我不確定是否每個人都充分理解，但這確實非常了不起。

I also want to pass along my best wishes to Ted, Ed, Rand and George in terms of continuing the legacy of success. With regards to -- business questions seem a little bit pedestrian at this point, but one thing that came up in several calls recently has just been basically around the tightness of the labor market. Rand, I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about what you're seeing in terms of fill rates and also pay rates within Apex Systems.

我也想向Ted、Ed、Rand和George致上最好的祝福，祝你們能延續成功的傳承。至於——此刻談業務問題似乎有點瑣碎，但最近幾通電話中反覆提到的一點，基本上是關於勞動市場的緊俏。Rand，我想請你談談你在Apex Systems看到的情況，包括職缺填補率以及薪資水準。

Rand?

Rand？

Well, listen, over the past, say, 1.5 years, we've seen bill rates rise a little faster than pay rates. In this last quarter, we saw it's a little bit different, but I don't know that it's a trend yet of anything.

嗯，聽著，過去大概1.5年，我們看到計費單價（bill rates）的上升速度略快於薪資（pay rates）。在最近這一季，我們看到情況有點不同，但我還不確定這是否已經形成任何趨勢。

Are we able to find quality candidates to submit to our clients? Yes. Our fill ratios are steady, if not up. I know for Q1, it's up year-over-year over Q1 of last year. So I'd say steady. As Ted said earlier, it's steady as we go. We're very mindful of these metrics, and we are watching closely.

我們能找到優質候選人提交給客戶嗎？可以。我們的填補率維持穩定，甚至略有上升。我知道就第一季而言，較去年第一季是年增的。所以我會說是穩定。如Ted先前所說，就是穩步前進。我們非常重視這些指標，也在密切觀察。

But you'll have to remember too, we have these large contracts and you don't change the bill rate overnight. It's not day-to-day. It is based on contract. And so there sometimes is a pay rate blip that were caused by the tightness in the labor market, but then we'll get bill rate adjustments. So I think we're pretty much in steady -- as Ted said, steady position here and so far, it's very balanced.

但你也要記得，我們有這些大型合約，你不可能一夜之間就調整計費單價。這不是每天都在變。它是依合約而定。因此，有時候薪資會因勞動市場緊俏而出現短暫波動，但之後我們會取得計費單價的調整。所以我認為我們基本上處於穩定——如Ted所說，處於穩定狀態；到目前為止相當平衡。

So Mark, that's the margin part of the answer. And I would just say if you think about the picture of can we find talent to put to work, we certainly can. If you look at our consultant headcounts, they're up. Our bill rates are up a little bit and that's certainly a little bit a part of the revenue story. But the real part of our revenue story is putting more people to work either through our Staff Aug business or our Statement of Work business. And so I think that that underlies the fact that we're still able to identify and find the talent and put them to work at our customer.

所以Mark，這是關於毛利的那部分答案。另外我想說，如果你從「我們能否找到人才上工」的角度來看，我們當然可以。如果你看我們的顧問人數，是增加的。我們的計費單價也略有上升，這確實是營收故事的一小部分。但我們營收故事的核心，是讓更多人上工，不論是透過我們的人力增補（Staff Aug）業務或工作說明書（Statement of Work）業務。因此我認為這也反映出，我們仍能辨識並找到人才，並讓他們在客戶端投入工作。

On the Staff Aug business, are you seeing any sort of change in terms of the behavior of the contractors in terms of how long they're staying on assignments or if they're getting poached at assignments or anything along those lines?

在人力增補（Staff Aug）業務方面，你是否看到承包商行為有任何變化，例如他們在專案上停留的時間長短，或在專案中被挖角之類的情況？

Yes. I don't believe there is any material change there, Mark. I mean, obviously it's a more active marketplace so we have to be more attentive to that. And if we feel like there is an issue there, we have to proactively go to our customer and think, well, what does that mean on the pay and the bill side and kind of work through that.

有。Mark，我不認為那裡有任何重大的變化。我的意思是，顯然市場更活躍，所以我們必須更留意。如果我們覺得那裡有問題，我們就必須主動與客戶溝通，思考這在薪資與計費端意味著什麼，並把它梳理清楚。

So I think the burden is on us with our customer and consultant to be more active and aware around that. But I don't think that we see something there that's too much different than what we've seen in past economic times.

所以我認為，責任在我們身上——與客戶及顧問一起更積極、更有意識地關注這些狀況。但我不認為我們看到的情況，與過去經濟景氣循環中的狀況有太大不同。

Ted, if I could, I agree with Ted 100%. But what I will say is the bigger accounts, the Fortune 500, they are willing to go longer with assignments because they don't want to go through the flux of a tight labor market. So we're seeing a slight inch up in the duration of staffing assignments, particularly in those top accounts, which is good.

Ted，如果可以的話，我100%同意Ted。但我想補充的是，大型客戶、也就是《財富》500大企業，他們願意讓派遣任務維持更長時間，因為他們不想在勞動市場緊俏時承受人員流動的折騰。所以我們看到派遣任務的期間略有拉長，特別是在那些頂級客戶上，這是好事。

That's great. Absolutely. Then George, on ECS, are you seeing -- there was discussion during the prior quarter about the pass-through revenue coming through and obviously that's a greater portion with regards to some of the AI and ML type contracts. How should we think about that on a -- over the next year or so in terms of how that ends up changing?

那很棒。完全同意。那麼George，回到ECS，你們是否看到——上一季曾討論到轉售/代收代付（pass-through）營收的流入，而且顯然在某些AI與ML類型合約中占比更高。我們應該如何看待未來一年左右這部分的變化，最終會如何改變？

Sure. I think it's going to be a constant part of our business because delivering some of these complex solutions that we are requires us to work with commercial and other government vendors of some pretty unique software and hardware as we deliver these things, particularly in AI, ML.

當然。我認為這將會成為我們業務中持續存在的一部分，因為要交付我們所需的一些複雜解決方案，必須在交付這些成果的過程中，與商業及其他政府供應商合作，採購一些相當獨特的軟體與硬體，尤其是在 AI、ML 方面。

What we have learned is that -- and what we are seeing is that there is a little bit of seasonality associated with the licenses, purchases and such and we did see that last quarter of last year. We'll probably see that again the final quarter of this year and also some other purchases maybe in the third quarter of this year.

我們學到的是——以及我們看到的是——授權、採購等方面確實存在一些季節性，而我們在去年最後一季也看到了這點。我們可能會在今年最後一季再次看到，另外今年第三季也可能會有一些其他採購。

So we're trying to get a little bit better handle on when and how we do these purchases and how we can forecast them for you all, but they will be a constant part of our business moving forward as long as we're delivering some of these complex systems.

因此，我們正努力更好地掌握我們何時以及如何進行這些採購，以及如何為各位進行預測；但只要我們持續交付這些複雜系統，這些採購在未來都將是我們業務的固定組成部分。

Yes. And to kind of quantify it for you, we told you on the fourth quarter call that the pass-throughs were higher than normal on a quarterly basis, but I think we gave you that it typically runs somewhere between 11% and 22% of revenue. Is that about right, George? And this quarter would have been on the lower end of that number, right?

是的。為了幫你量化一下，我們在第四季電話會議上告訴各位，按季來看轉付項目（pass-throughs）高於正常水準，但我想我們也提到它通常約占營收的 11% 到 22% 之間。George，這樣對嗎？而本季會落在這個區間的較低端，對吧？

Yes. This quarter is definitely a lower end of that number. Q4 was a watermark for us.

是的。本季確實是在那個區間的較低端。第四季對我們而言是一個高水位。

And our next question comes from Cliff Greenberg.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cliff Greenberg。

Peter, on behalf of Baron Capital and the share -- the fund holders in my mutual fund, I wanted to thank you very much. It's been a great privilege to be your shareholder over the last 6 years. We've made 3.5x our money, which is a great return. I view you as one of the top executives I have ever had the privilege to invest with.

Peter，我代表 Baron Capital 以及我共同基金中的股東——基金持有人——非常感謝你。過去 6 年能成為你的股東是一種莫大的榮幸。我們的投資報酬達到 3.5 倍，這是非常好的回報。我認為你是我有幸投資過的最頂尖的高階主管之一。

You built a tremendous business that has a great future. You've been highly strategic and skilled in assembling these assets and also in grooming great executives. I look forward to Ted's taking us from here. And I wish the best health for your family and your son. And we'll stay in touch.

你打造了一個卓越且前景光明的企業。你在整合這些資產方面非常有策略且技術高超，也很擅長培養優秀的高階主管。我期待 Ted 接手後帶領我們繼續前進。也祝福你的家人與你的兒子身體健康。我們會保持聯繫。

Thank you, Cliff.

謝謝你，Cliff。

The next question comes from Seth Weber.

下一個問題來自 Seth Weber。

Peter, I just want to echo best wishes as well. Question, I guess, for either George or the team. Just any early success in cross-selling the ECS platform with Apex with any of the bigger commercial customers yet? Or is that still -- kind of still in the early stages?

Peter，我也想同樣表達祝福。我想把問題留給 George 或團隊。到目前為止，在把 ECS 平台與 Apex 進行交叉銷售、面向一些較大型的商業客戶方面，有沒有任何早期的成功案例？還是說仍然——還在相對早期的階段？

Seth, this is Peter, and then I'll let George respond. Unfortunately, it's a good thing, but both of these companies have more than they can say grace over. Apex was faster growth than the same billable day basis on a consolidated basis. And as you know, it's a tight labor market. And ECS is growing above its own industry growth rate.

Seth，我是 Peter，接著我會請 George 回答。不幸的是——但這其實是件好事——這兩家公司手上的業務都多到忙不過來。以相同可計費工作日為基礎來看，Apex 的成長速度在合併口徑下更快。而如你所知，勞動力市場非常吃緊。ECS 的成長也高於其所在產業的成長率。

And so we're measured and we will continue to be measured about how we try to cross-sell one another's services because the worst thing you can do is overpromise and under-deliver. So those conversations are being had. We're trying to coordinate. I would tell you more of the conversations are around where ECS used a look-alike Apex company as a subcontractor to themselves prior to the acquisition that we're trying to default to Apex.

因此，我們在嘗試交叉銷售彼此服務時採取審慎的步調，並且會持續審慎，因為你最不該做的就是過度承諾卻交付不足。所以這些對話正在進行中。我們正在嘗試協調。我會說，目前更多的對話是圍繞著：在收購之前，ECS 曾使用一家與 Apex 類似的公司作為其分包商，而我們正嘗試把這部分優先轉向 Apex。

And then the second is that ECS has built a little bit of revenue outside the federal intelligence space with commercial companies, Yum! Brands, Hilton Hotel Grand Vacations. And to the extent that we don't overstretch ourselves maybe addressing some of Apex's customers on some cyber-security needs.

第二點是，ECS 在聯邦情報領域之外，也與商業公司建立了一些營收，例如 Yum! Brands、Hilton Hotel Grand Vacations。在不讓自己過度拉伸的前提下，我們也可能會針對 Apex 的部分客戶在資安需求上提供協助。

But it's -- some people could fault us for this, but it's measured and it's market opportunity, but it's being done thoughtfully so that we don't overpromise and under deliver because of the real reality of a tight labor market and be able to staff these projects appropriately.

不過——有些人可能會因此批評我們——我們的做法是審慎的；市場機會確實存在，但我們會有思考地推進，避免因勞動力市場緊俏的現實而出現過度承諾、交付不足，並確保能適當配置人力來執行這些專案。

That makes sense. Maybe just a quick follow-up. I know it's not a big end market exposure to you -- for you. But any comments on Europe? I know you have a little bit of exposure there with the Oxford business. There's been some kind of mixed messaging around Europe lately. I'm just wondering if you have any particular views.

了解。我再快速追問一下。我知道這對你們來說不是很大的終端市場曝險——對你們而言。但對歐洲有什麼看法嗎？我知道你們透過 Oxford 業務在那邊有一些曝險。最近市場對歐洲的訊息有點分歧。我只是想知道你們是否有任何特別的觀點。

We have not our biggest business, but we have a business in Europe, which you correctly state is Oxford. I would say that marketplace to us, we see as steady. I know there's news over there that there are certain things going on and we certainly are watchful of all that, but our customers continue to need our IT services that Oxford provides and they're doing just fine.

我們在歐洲確實有業務，雖然不是我們最大的業務，你說得沒錯，就是 Oxford。我會說，對我們而言，那個市場我們看到的是穩定。我知道那邊有一些新聞、確實有些事情正在發生，我們也會密切關注，但我們的客戶仍然需要 Oxford 所提供的 IT 服務，而且他們的狀況都很好。

It has out-performed.

它的表現優於預期。

It continues to -- when we talk about business mix inside of Oxford it's growing a little bit faster than the U.S. business, so that's a little bit of what you're seeing within the margins.

而且它持續——當我們談到 Oxford 內部的業務組合時，它的成長速度比美國業務稍快一些，所以你在毛利率上看到的部分情況就是來自這裡。

And there are no further questions at this time, please proceed.

目前沒有其他問題，請繼續。

All right. We thank you for your time and attention. And Ted looks forward to reporting our second quarter results shortly. So all the best to everyone, and thank you again for the privilege of being able to work with each and every one of you.

好的。感謝各位的時間與關注。Ted 也期待不久後向各位報告我們第二季的業績。祝各位一切順利，也再次感謝能有機會與各位每一位共事的榮幸。

And that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using the AT&T Executive Teleconference Service. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與，並使用 AT&T 高階主管電話會議服務。您現在可以掛線。